State parliament in Erfurt
Breaking taboo: CDU and AfD decide to cut taxes in Thuringia
Members of the CDU, FDP and AfD vote in the Thuringian state parliament for the Union’s draft law. photo
© Martin Schutt/dpa
How does the Thuringian CDU feel about the firewall against the AfD? This question was discussed in the state parliament over the vote on a lower real estate transfer tax. The tax cut is coming – the AfD provided the necessary majority.
The opposition has pushed through a tax cut in Thuringia for the first time against the will of the red-red-green government. A draft law The CDU for a lower real estate transfer tax received a majority in the state parliament in Erfurt because, alongside the FDP, the AfD contributed the decisive votes.
The CDU initiative caused a stir and raised questions among the political competition, as is the view of the largest opposition faction in the Thuringian state parliament with the firewall against the AfD, which is classified as proven right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia.
It was decided by 46 votes to 42 to reduce the real estate transfer tax. Home builders and property buyers only have to pay 5.0 instead of 6.5 percent tax. According to forecasts, the loss of income is 48 million euros annually.
“Pact with the Devil”
Representatives of the government coalition of the Left, SPD and Greens criticized the tax cut as a “unique process” and a “pact with the devil”. The CDU gives the AfD leeway and influence on the state budget, said Left parliamentary group leader Steffen Dittes. The CDU is beginning to “actually set in motion a small government coalition in the opposition, including the AfD.”
Shortly before the vote, Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) invited CDU parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt to talk about alternatives to family support. The state parliament session was temporarily interrupted due to constitutional concerns regarding passages of the CDU law. The government has had time to make proposals since March, replied Voigt. The opposition voted against referring the law back to the budget committee. Finance Minister Heike Taubert (SPD) said the government reserved the right to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.
Merz: Don’t make our actions dependent on other factions
The CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz defended the actions of the Thuringian CDU parliamentary group before the vote. “We do not make what we discuss in the state parliaments and in the German Bundestag dependent on other factions,” said Merz on Thursday in RTL/ntv’s “Early Start”. There will be no cooperation with the AfD at the federal or state level. “It stays that way.”
Voigt argued similarly, justifying the tax cut with family support for their own homes and impulses for the ailing construction industry and the skilled trades. “We cannot make the solution to problems dependent on the wrong side threatening to agree,” he said again and again. Federal Vice President Karin Prien, who is more associated with the liberal CDU wing, also made similar statements in the “Bild” newspaper.
The majority situation in the Thuringian state parliament is difficult: Ramelow’s red-red-green coalition has not had its own majority since taking office in 2020 – it is four votes short in parliament. She is always dependent on compromises when making decisions – so far especially with the CDU. A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia in 2024.